The Rose of Scarlet
by ScarletKittyDevine
Summary: XP, I'm revising this story because I'm unsatisified with it. I'll make a new one and put a link for it where it accesible for others.
1. Prologue A Red Future

**_The Rose of Scarlet_**

_Prologue_

_A Red Future_

It was a mistake. She should've never picked me. I mean, who am I that she had to bring me here? What did I do? Out of the millions of people who had watched or played the game, she picked me. Hell, it would've been a lot easier if she picked someone who didn't know about the game. Then it would be so much easier for her to get out. That's what she wanted, right? Right?

I swallow as pressed against the corner. I held onto my bleeding, and almost completely useless, right arm while making sure to cover the spot where the three roses were hidden within my cloak. Why was I such a victim of circumstance? First I was brought here, taken from the life I knew before, which I barely even remember anymore. Now it's possible all three of us can die, without the other two even knowing. Not to mention everything that happened in between.

I had no way out, no way to escape. The monster seemed to know as she slowed her crawling and growled. It was never supposed to be this way. I had seen the whole game, except for the ending, but that didn't matter right? I knew the puzzles, the monsters, almost everything. So why was it so different?

_Who said I had to stick to the game?_ She whispered in my mind.

If it wasn't already, my face paled. She didn't... She...

I closed my eyes as the Lady in Red neared me. There was nothing else I could do...


	2. Chapter 1 Good-Bye and Hello

**_The Rose of Scarlet_**

_Chapter 1_

_Good-Bye and Hello_

"Destiny, come and do the dishes."

I sighed. Now was the worst possible time for my mom to say that. I looked at the screen of my tablet as the end of the seventh part of PewDiePie's walk-through of the game Ib. At first glance, I didn't really pay much attention to the game. It didn't seem all that interesting at that time. As I watched more episodes, I grew more interested. Now that he was on the verge of completing the game, I was interesting in seeing it. I had done a little research, so I knew that there were multiple endings. I didn't read what they were, though, because I wanted to see for myself. I didn't really like spoiling it for myself.

"Today, Destiny," my mom called out again, sounding a little annoyed.

I sighed again, backing out of the next video, Part eight, and out of the YouTube app.

"I'm coming." I called back as I held the power button on the tablet to turn it off. The ending would just have to wait until later.

_Later..._

_Finally..._ I thought as I walked back up to my bedroom. I sat on my bed and looked at the clock. 11:48, it read. _That's not bad..._ I bit my lip a little as I glanced at the tablet sitting on my desk. I shook my head. I had church in the morning and my mother would kill me if I slept during the service. I sighed, After church for sure.

I quickly redressed myself into something more comfortable to sleep in. I plugged in my MP3 player and set it for Ib's Theme to play on repeat. I don't know why, but the song was just so... Wonderful to me. I couldn't get enough of it. As I laid my head down to sleep the quiet tinkling of the music seemed to speak to my soul.

_He he he..._

Shivers went up and down my back as the soft girlish laugh rolled around in my head. I opened my eyes and quickly got up.

"Wha?..." I said as fear slowly creeped through my body. There was nothing. It was all just a black empty void. I had a second of processing time before I screamed, "What's going on?!"

_You're going to play my game_, I heard through my ragged breaths.

"Game? What game? Who are you?"

_Now, now, I don't want to ruin the surprise._

I swallowed as I tried desperately to calm down. I only half succeeded.

_Since you're from another world, why don't I give you a little present. You can change your name to whatever you wish._

I frowned in confusion. "I don't understand."

She laughed, _Oh, you will, you will... _

I gasped as I realized it felt like my body was being sucked into something below me. "Help!" I cried through the laughing of the girl.

* * *

_**This is my first chapter. I hope you enjoy it. As with the prologue, I would love any advice on this piece or my general writing. ~ ScarletKittyDevine**_


	3. Chapter 2 Into The Madness

**_The Rose of Scarlet_**

_Chapter 2_

_Into the Madness_

I stared at the sculpture of the rose.

"Every rose has its thorns." I whispered. I blinked. Why had I said that? Why was I here? I was just... I winced as there was a stab of pain in my head. Why couldn't I remember? I tried harder as the pain became stronger. Suddenly, it faded to just a small spike and I could remember. Mostly.

"I was sleeping... and then..." I whispered. I gasped. That voice, whoever she was, it brought me this museum. But how could she have done that?

I glanced around at my surroundings. At first, I couldn't recall where I had seen it before. I sighed and walked around, looking at the paintings and sculptures. They all seemed so... morbid. Yet, somehow I felt like I had seen them all before. I walked down the stairs. I probably should have paid attention, but I was too busy looking at the art, trying to figure out where I saw it.

I walked around the giant sculpture in the middle of the room and to the plaque that had information on the piece. I glanced at it and froze as I stared in horror at the name.

_Abyss of the Deep. _

Now, I know my art pieces. I know M_ona Lisa, The Starry Night, The Scream, _and_ The Last Supper._ I know T_he Disco Thrower, The Kiss, David, _and _The Thinker. _I know that they are real. I also know that _Abyss of the Deep _was never real, except in a game. Ib, to be more exact.

Just as I was about to run screaming from the museum, the lights flickered off. I stared wide-eyed into the darkness as I turned around, looking for anyone. I know there was people all around me before the lights turned off, but when the lights turned back on, I was alone. I swallowed, trying to get my heart to slow back down. This couldn't be happening. I was not stuck in a video game.

I turned back around to look across the room for... Anything really.

_Te he he._

I gasped as I heard the soft giggle. Only a second later I was pushed, straight into the waters of the Abyss of the Deep.

_**Hey! It's me again! You know, that annoying person who talks to you at the end of the chapter. Anyways, this is the second chapter now. As you might be able to tell, the chapters are going to be kinda small, but I should be able to whip out two or three, maybe even four, of them at a time. This chapter should soon be followed by Chapter 3. As before, I love any and all advice you might have for me. Adios for now ~ScarletKittyDevine **_


	4. Chapter 3 The Shadows Start

**_The Rose of Scarlet_**

_Chapter 3_

_The Shadows Start_

My eyes slowly opened as my mind climbed out of the fog. I took a second to look around from my place of laying on my stomach without really moving anything. My vision was blurry for some reason so I could really see was a lot of black and red. I moaned softly and just laid there for a little while. After a few minutes, I tried to get up. I literally hissed and fell back down as pain ripped through my entire back and upper legs. Now was the worse time for this. I've always had problems in that area before, but the last "attack" was over a year ago. The doctor said I should be fine now. Well... To give him credit, he did say not to overextend myself or it could come back.

I sighed as the pain refused to go away. Why now of all times? I stopped moving and blinked a couple of times to completely clear my eyes. I lifted my head just a little, to look around more. I swallowed, getting nervous. The room had a hard red floor and pure black walls. The walls were so black it was like they weren't even there. I winced as I tried to look behind me and was only greeted with the pain. The true source of the pain was from a pinched nerve on my lower spine, but it affected both my lower back and upper thighs. I could barely lift my body before dropping back down with tears of pain in my eyes.

I struggled to remember the positions that the chiropractor had used to ease the pain and straighten my spine. Through a lot of determination, I curled my body slowly, crying as my body shrieked at me to stop. After I had curled my body into a small ball I took a second to relax, if only a little. Then hooked my top foot over the knee of my bottom leg and move my bottom arm, the right one, under my body and stretched my left hand to my left knee. I took a deep breath and pushed my knee into my stomach. I cried loudly as the pain seemed to engulf me, but it quickly subsided with a crack as my spine snapped a little closer into place. I laid there for a few minutes before I got the courage to do the same stretch to my other leg. After the pain, I laid there gasping as I found relief in the pain ebbing away.

I laid there for what seemed like forever, but was probably a few minutes. Finally, I attempted to get up. Thankfully, I must have done the stretch right as there was very little pain as I climbed up to my feet. I looked around again. The room was actually rather empty, save for the door that was on my right and the small table that sat behind me. I stood straight up and sighed as my spine finally completely snapped into place. I did a couple stretches to make sure... And I really didn't want to open that door. There was almost no pain as I bent down to touch my toes. I got back up and turned to look at the table.

I hadn't noticed before, but there was a vase sitting on the table. I stepped a little closer and leaned down to look at the flower that was sitting within the vase. With a jolt I realized it was a rose, which I hadn't recognized because of the odd coloring. I gently touched the soft petals. The flower itself was beautiful. It was a dark midnight black with dots or specks of what seemed to be a vibrant, but dark red. I tilted my head, curious. I had never seen such a flower before, or at least with that coloring.

I shrugged and picked up the rose. As I held it in my hand, I realized what this meant. I almost dropped the flower in horror as I remembered about Ib. My life was now tied to the rose. My hand was clearly shaking as I proceeded to place the rose gently in the inside pocket of my cloak. I glanced at my clothes, not realizing that somehow I knew what I was wearing, without really knowing. I mean, obviously I wasn't wearing my bedtime clothing. It seemed that whoever brought me here, gave me different clothes.

I wore a long black cloak with long wide-open ended sleeves and gold fabric on the ends and the cloak had splits on the side of the bottom part, through the cloak itself looked old and worn. Underneath the cloak was, embarrassingly enough, simply a thick leather top that literally only covered my breasts. Under that, thankfully, it felt like I had a soft, but firm strap-less bra. Thank goodness. I had, what I thought was a skirt for my bottom. It was fashioned like the cloak, with splits on the sides, so my legs were clearly visible. Unlike the cloak, however, both my top and bottom were mostly dark red with black borders. I glanced at the rose again. "That explains the colors..." I murmured. I lifted my leg and almost laughed, despite the situation. They were black, high-heeled boots that reached all the way up to mid-calf. In my school, the kids there would call these boots, "Hooker Boots." I never really thought of them that way; in fact I actually liked them.

I looked at the door. I knew I had to go through there at some point, no matter how long I spent looking at my clothes. Out of habit I reached up and rubbed my necklace. I was a garnet heart on a simple gold chain. It was really nothing special, but I still treasure it so much.

I neared the door and softly pressed my head against it and listened. I heard... Nothing. I narrowed my eyes, but it seemed to be safe. I back up a little and grabbed the door handle.

Chills went down my back and I jumped as I heard the scream. It sounds like a little girl was screaming bloody murder. I yanked the door open and raced out into the dark hallway.

_**Hey again! Just checking in with you guys! I know this chapter is a little long, but I had a lot of detail I wanted to cover. As for the pain and the stretching. The pain is real. I have that particular back problem and the pain was worse than I could describe here. I just thought I'd let you know that I was speaking from experience there. Also, I tried to describe the stretch to align the spinal cord again as well as I could, but I'm not a chiropractor. Then there are the clothes. The clothes I described are something of a normal thing for my character to wear. Anyways, I think that's all, so See ya later! ~ScarletKittyDevine**_


	5. Chapter 4 Killer Welcome

**_The Rose of Scarlet_**

_Chapter 4_

_Killer Welcome_

I raced through the hallway, barely glancing at me surroundings. All I was thinking about was the screamer. I know I turn a couple of times here and there, but I wasn't paying attention. I stopped for a second, praying that she would scream again. I

looked to my left as I heard a groan, like someone was in pain. I walked to the door as I heard shuffling behind it. I grabbed the handle and suddenly it grew quiet.

Now my imagination is both a blessing and a curse. My imagination is what gave me my creativity, but because of this, I do poorly in scary situations. I can't stand scary things. I couldn't even sit through Paranormal Activity one because I was scared stiff by the demon. Now that I'm stuck here, I know I won't be sleeping for the next couple of years.

My imagination ran wild: _What if someone was just murdered? What if the murderer is still there? What if it's a monster waiting to kill me? _

The thoughts flew my mind as I found the courage to pull open the door. I gasped in surprise and put up my arm to protect me.

_**And this here is Chapter 4! It's true. I could not stand to sit through an entire sitting of Paranormal Activity. I also would like to remind you. This girl is not me. She's just based off of me. Anyways, advice welcome! ~ ScarletKittyDevine**_


	6. Chapter 5 Pain In Friendship

**_The Rose of Scarlet_**

_Chapter 5_

_Pain In Friendship_

I groaned as I struggled to get his heavy body off of me.

"Would you get off?" I asked him with an annoyed voice.

He hesitated for a second as he looked at my face. Relief colored his dark blue eyes, "You're not a monster."

I pushed him off, "Of course not." I replied as I got up.

He just laid there staring up at me, "Who are you?"

I looked back at the hallway. I thought I could hear walking, but I couldn't be sure, "Let's get inside first."

He nodded and got up to close the door. I walked in and glanced around the room, slightly paranoid and he closed the door. My eyes stopped at the pair of ruby eyes trying to hide behind a bookcase.

We looked at each other for a little bit before she got up and walked to me.

"My name is Ib." she said softly.

I forced a smile on my face, "I..." I hesitated.

_You can change your name to whatever you wish._

I remembered what the girl had said and finished, "I'm Scarlet."

I kneeled down and smiled, this time for real. I placed my hand on her shoulder. She smiled back and said, "Are you from the museum, too?"

I tilted my head as I struggled to remember, "Ah... yeah... yes." I replied when I was sure.

The man from earlier walked over, "I'm Garry."

I got back up and nodded, "It's nice to see a normal person." he added.

"As opposed to..." I left the question open ended for him.

"Haven't you seen them?" he asked, a little surprised. "The headless statues of the portraits?"

I shivered for a second before I remembered, "The Lady in Red."

He nodded, "Exactly." Then he gave me an almost sad smile. I really hoped that I won't meet her in person.

"Where are we?" I asked as he placed a comforting hand on Ib's head.

"I'm not sure exactly. Ib and I were just trying to get away from one of the Ladies before we hid in here." he said.

"I didn't see anything outside." I replied. I turned my head a little to hear anything from the hallway. Was it me, or was there a dragging noise coming closer to the door?

"Then maybe we should get going." he said, half to me, half to Ib. Ib nodded and looked to the door. I nodded to them. "Good luck then." I said as I turned to the bookcase against the wall.

He looked at me, "What are you talking about? We can't just leave a woman to herself. You might get hurt."

I blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered. "I think I'm fi- Argh!" I stopped in mid sentence because I was reaching up at a book on the top shelf when a sudden stab of pain attacked my side under my arm. I bent over in the pain and held my side. I felt hands gently holding my sides as I sank to the ground. The pain soon left, but I remained sitting on my knees on the ground, panting.

"Are you alright?" I heard Garry ask. He must be the one who's holding me right now. "Fine." I whispered. "Where's your rose?" he asked. I reached in my cloak and grabbed the flower. I gasped softly as a few petals floated to the ground as I pulled it out.

"It must've been when you tackled me." I said. I looked up at Garry. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done something so stupid!"

I waved my hand dismissively, "It's fine. You didn't know." He shook his head, "Then at least let me help me heal you." I glanced back up at him, confused and guarded. He gave me a worried, but soft smile. I sighed and handed him the rose. He gently took it and walked to the table in the middle of the room. I instantly felt better as he placed the rose in the small vase on the table.

"What did you do?" I asked. He gave me a wide grin. "The vases with water in them; they heal your rose." I walked over and he handed me my rose. Of course, only then did I remember that. I wasn't going to get anywhere here if I keep remembering things after they happen.

"It's a very pretty rose." he added. I looked back at him in surprise. "Thanks." He turned to Ib, "Shall we get going, Ib?' Ib scurried to him and nodded. He offered him left hand and she hung onto it. He then looked at me and offered his right hand to me. "Well?"

I hesitated, but I reached out to take his hand. Before I could however, I yelped and jumped as something rammed into the door. I stared wide-eyed at the door as Garry moved in front of Ib protectively.

The thing rammed against the door again and Garry and I looked at each other. "We need to get out of here." I said. "But how? That's the only door." he replied. Both of us whirled back to the door as we heard the cracking of wood.

_**Wow! I didn't realize how long this was getting while I was writing it! Aw well, I hope you guys like it! Be sure to leave any reviews! ~ ScarletKittyDevine**_


	7. Chapter 6 What Else To Do?

_**The Rose of Scarlet**_

_Chapter 6_

_What Else To Do...?_

I tripped and fell as the headless statue broke the door in half. It pushed the remaining pieces aside and walked in. I looked around and used my hands to pull me back away from the statue. _Nothing to trip on... of course I tripped on my own feet, _I remark in the back of my mind as I look around.

I huffed softly as I hit the wall and quickly use it to get back up. I look up again and, instead of seeing the statue coming to kill me, the statue was going after Garry and Ib, who ran to the other side of the room. The room wasn't that wide, so they didn't have much room to escape.

I swallowed, realizing what I was about to do was an act on impulse. I grabbed a book and threw it at the statue, "Hey, Brainless! Why waste your time with them when you get come and get poor, defenseless me?"

The statue paused for a second before it spun around towards me. I gulped, realization finally sinking with its friend Fear. I raced out of the room, only pausing at the door, or what was left of it, to see if it was following me. I ran through the hallway, through the way I came, I think. As I turned the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"This was a horrible idea..." I said with dread. I looked back as the statue stumbled around the corner and bit my lip. The Lady in Blue in front of me growled and quickly started crawling towards me as I looked back to her. I closed my eyes for a second as I decided on what I was going to do.

I quickly ran straight towards the Lady in Blue and prayed that my luck would hold just this one time. Before we meet, I jumped and stepped straight on her face, allowing me to completely bypass the portrait and escape from the two still trying to take my flower. While I was afraid of them, I knew it was what I wanted. As long as the monsters were following me, Garry and Ib could escape.

I ran again through the hallways, not really knowing where I was or where I was going. I just ran. Eventually, the growling and rapping of footsteps along with the dragging noises faded away and I was able to take a breather from everything that was happening. I bent down, breathing hard and trying to quiet my breathing. I didn't know if those things could actually hear, the statues didn't even have ears, but I didn't want to chance it.

My breathing finally slowed and I quietly walked farther down the hall I had previously headed towards. I nervously looked around, straining my ears for the littlest noise. That's why when I heard a soft thump behind me, I half jumped, half whirled around to look. I made no noise which was surprising to me, but when I saw what was behind me, I could help but to gasp and fall down, my hands lifting to cover my mouth in horror.

_**Ooo, what's there that Scarlet's so afraid of? You'll have to find out in the next chapter! I can be so mean sometimes. (Just kidding) ~ScarletKittyDevine**_


	8. Chapter 7 Having Fun?

_**The Rose of Scarlet**_

_Chapter 7_

_Having Fun?_

I quickly crab crawled away from the mannequin head, breathing rapidly. I _hated _those things. They always somehow popped up in the worst places. I just couldn't trust them.

The head just sat there on the ground staring at me. I shivered and crab crawled farther away. I didn't like them, but I knew if I broke it, more would just pop up. Also, it always seemed like they were the "eyes" of the other monsters. You know... they somehow told the Ladies and statues were I was. Gods, I hoped that wasn't true.

I slowly crawled a little farther away and got up, never taking my eyes off of the creepy thing. After a few seconds I realized there was some sort of liquid that was leaking out of its eyes and running down its cheeks. I clenched my jaw as I watched the red liquid slowly drip down. Yeah... I was so out of there.

I immediately turned around and raced away from the creepy-ass thing. Thankfully, there wasn't anything behind me, like in the horror movies I rarely see. I turned a couple more corners and slowed to a stop again.

The recent scare and all that running had me gasping for breath. I glanced around quickly while trying to quiet my breathing again. Assured there was nothing around, I pressed my back against the to prevent any "sneak attacks" from that_ thing. _

I swallowed and slid down the wall. I think my mind was finally catching up with the situation as I finally realized just what kind of situation I was in. I looked down at my heads. My body definitely already knew; my entire body was shaking almost violently.

I glanced around quickly again. The only thing that would help me now is my paranoia. I've always been a little paranoid, but it came out more right after experienced something terrifying. This paranoia wasn't like other people's either. You couldn't just say that everyone had paranoia sometimes. No, mine was much worse. I would imagine the worst possible situation playing out, even if it was completely impossible for it to happen.

I hugged myself as my breath finally quieted and I strained my ears for any signs of them. At this rate, I was going to kill myself simply to get away. I couldn't stop shivering... this was exactly how most of my nightmares would play out. Just because the monsters were different sometimes, the plot is the same. I'd find hope only to have it taken away and end up dead. Or at least I think; I've never actually finished those dreams.

Is this what she wanted? The girl who brought me here, did she want to scare me or kill me?

**So I think I'll end it here guys! The next chapter will be up soon and you'll find out if Scarlet survives both the monsters and her paranoia. ~ ScarletKittyDevine**


	9. Chapter 8 Lost and Jumbled

_**The Rose of Scarlet**_

_Chapter 8_

_Lost and Jumbled_

After a few moments of complete loss of my calm, I rationalized my mind again. _It's alright..._ I thought,_ I__'ll just get out of here and I can get home._ I sighed checked once again.

_But... what is home?_

I gulped as I realized the truth in the small voice in my mind. I closed my eyes as I struggled to remember my life before coming here. Hell, I don't even know how long it's been since I... laid my head down to sleep? Yeah, I was going to sleep. I remember that now. There was something was doing before that, though... something about Ib...

Of course! I was watching Pe- PewDiePie? Yeah, PewDiePie. I was watching him play this very game. Except now it's not a game.. It's real. And it can kill me. A stray thought whispered through my mind.

_What if none of this is real? What if all of this is a dream? Will I wake up and find out it's all just my imagination?_

I immediately reject the thought. If this was a dream, the pain sure felt awfully real. I know that I have had back pain before, but I highly doubt that my mind could make it feel so real. I sighed, my eyes still closed, and relaxed a little. My muscles were hurting from all of this tension.

I opened my eyes for a second to check for anything trying to kill me. Nothing yet. It was deadly quiet, but I needed to take this time to collect my thoughts, or rather, my memories.

I closed my eyes again as I tried to remember. There was the same pain from the first time I tried to remember, but I quickly faded to a small pinch as I thought. My original memories kept getting mixed up with alien memories. I remembered things I knew never happened.

I remember my mother. Never the nicest woman, but provided for me. Yet, I also remember her beating me. That never happened. And my father. I know he was a great man who always kept food on the table, yet I keep remember him being an abusive drunk instead.

Then I remember them dying sometime in age 13, but how is hazy and I _know _that didn't happen. It was all so confusing. So much to the point that I no longer knew which memories to trust.

"What's wrong?"

I jumped up against the wall and clutched my chest as I opened my eyes to Garry. My heart was beating faster again. He looked at me apologetic and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Then don't do that!" I snapped. I stood there as I tried to calm my breathing again. I always did get angry when I was scared.

"So, what's wrong?" he asked again. I glanced up at him and spotted Ib standing behind him. "What do you mean?" I asked back.

"Well, you had almost a pained look on your face. Except you seemed fine when you jumped up..." he said.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, we're kinda stuck in what a maze filled with headless statues, man-eating paintings, flower-eating faces, and the creepiest mannequin heads I've ever seen. Oh, and these stupid flowers are our lifeline, except they are one of the most fragile things possible! So we're basically screwed!" I ranted, annoyed that he would ask such a question. I started panting afterwards and leaned against the wall.

"Better?" he asked. I looked back up at him. "A little." He smiled at me, "That's a start." I frowned at him, confused, "How can you smile? Do you not realized where we are?" He kept smiling, "Because I know we're going to get out of here. We have to."

I looked down at Ib holding tightly to his jacket. I watched her for a second. How could she be so calm. I was freaking out, but she looked like she dealt with this stuff every day. I turned as my arms started to shake again. I didn't need them to see me break down again.

"Scarlet? Are you alright?" Garry asked me while I hunched against the wall, covering my arms.

"Fine." My voice was higher pitched, like when I lie, but can't stop from giving it away. I felt him hug me and I could feel Ib holding on to my leg. I couldn't hold it back. I started crying.

It wasn't loud, but I was crying hard. I couldn't stop either. I slowly slid to the ground. Garry and Ib just sat down with me not saying anything even when Garry started to rub my back.


	10. Chapter 9 Forever Running

_**The Rose of Scarlet**_

_Chapter 9_

_Forever Running_

After what seemed to be an eternity, I finally quieted down. I rubbed my sleeve against my eyes and looked up, straight in Garry's face. I blushed and looked back down at the close proximity of our faces. I quickly stood up before he said anything.

"Thank you for letting me get that out." I said, still not looking at them as I walked a bit away. Ib followed me anyways and kept hugging my leg. I awkwardly pat her head. I never seemed to do well with children, yet this child still hugged me. She looked up at me, "We'll make sure nothing happens to you." she said in her soft, little voice.

I couldn't help but to smile, "Thank you sweetheart." I glanced up at Garry, who was grinning as well. "Looks like I've replaced you as the object to be hugged." I said. Garry laughed, "That's okay. I think I can protect you both." I chuckled, "You're the Guardian now?" He nodded, "Of course. I'm the man here."

My head snapped to the right as something fell on the floor. The object rolled slowly towards us and stopped about ten feet away. At its last roll, the face of a mannequin looked up at us. I grinned at Garry, who had given a girlish scream when the thing fell and was now clutching his chest.

"I believe the mannequin says otherwise." I laughed. He quickly changed his scared face, "I wasn't scared, I..." he drifted off as he tried to think of an excuse. His voice was high-pitched as he lied and I laughed more. Ib giggled with me and I ruffled her hair as I glanced at the mannequin again.

"Shall we get going then?" I asked them. I saw Ib nod from the corner of my eye while Garry smiled at me, "Yeah. Let's go home." My smile faded a little, but I quickly recovered. My acting skills kicked in, "Yeah, homebound."

I tugged on Ib's arm gently, "Come on, sweetie." I said as we walked past the head. She glanced at it as we walked by and I added, "It doesn't move when you look at it, Ib. If you keep watching it while we walk away. It'll leave us alone."

She nodded and stared straight at the head. I smiled, "I feel so much safer now." I one-handed hugged Ib as we walked she continued to stare the head. We walked around the corner and Garry said, "I don't think it's going to follow us Ib. We'll be fine now." She nodded again and I tried not to laughed at the serious face because on her little face it looked so out of character.

Instead I sighed as I looked at the long hallway. "How many more are there?" I asked softly. Garry gave me a small smile, "I'm not sure. We were in a small gallery of the women earlier, but I don't remember where."

I looked back at the end of the hallway and kept walking. I don't know why, but I wanted to run. I just wanted to keep running until everything around me disappeared.\

**_(^w^) ~ ScarletKittyDevine_**


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